Bang-Bang's Quest for Yay, Yum, and Yeshttps://bangbangquest.wordpress.com
Learning How to Cook, Eat, Travel, and Find My Va-Va-Va-Voooooom...Sat, 19 Aug 2017 18:45:17 +0000enhourly1http://wordpress.com/https://secure.gravatar.com/blavatar/2d962bf076fc0a2f1ca0d1a513c01e37?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Fs2.wp.com%2Fi%2Fbuttonw-com.pngBang-Bang's Quest for Yay, Yum, and Yeshttps://bangbangquest.wordpress.com
How to Make Beans… My First Cooking Show!https://bangbangquest.wordpress.com/2013/10/14/how-to-make-beans-my-first-cooking-show/
https://bangbangquest.wordpress.com/2013/10/14/how-to-make-beans-my-first-cooking-show/#commentsMon, 14 Oct 2013 18:28:31 +0000http://bangbangquest.wordpress.com/?p=1669]]>One of my “bucket list” things to do was to make a cooking video for YouTube. Well, I finally did it!

In my first video of hopefully many, I decided to focus on something easy: BEANS!!

I never make pie because I hate rolling dough, and there’s something really heartbreaking about a pre-made crust. Therefore, I just don’t eat pie. No big deal, there are other things in life to keep me happy, like cake.

But every time I open Colleen Patrick-Goudreau’s classic, The Joy of Vegan Baking (I might as well just superglue the book to my face) the recipe for the No-Bake Strawberry Pie with Chocolate Chunks jumps out at me. So… what the hell, right?

After all, it’s friggin’ summertime! Time to smush as many fresh fruits and veggies into our faces as possible! After you tire of eating them as-is (as if!), you throw them into a dang pie or cobbler and eat them that way. It’s okay.

My name is Alecia, and today I made pie.

Anyway, I know that this recipe has been around the internet and back, but I just wanted to share a link to it (and my pictures) so that you remember to keep it in your life.

Oh yeah, and the crust for this pie is of the crumb variety, so no rolling required. Muhahahaaa

]]>https://bangbangquest.wordpress.com/2013/08/15/a-picture-of-my-pie/feed/0eatflyhustleIMG_3314IMG_3322Six Chicago Restaurants I Will Misshttps://bangbangquest.wordpress.com/2013/07/06/six-chicago-restaurants-i-will-miss/
https://bangbangquest.wordpress.com/2013/07/06/six-chicago-restaurants-i-will-miss/#commentsSat, 06 Jul 2013 22:27:54 +0000http://bangbangquest.wordpress.com/?p=1649]]>After what seemed like an eternity of dealing with cold weather, mood swings, seasonal affective disorder, and subtle marital power struggles, Andy and I have moved from Chicago to San Diego, again. Again??

I’m dealing with it.

Happy husband, happy life. People say that, right?

No other city has given me such overwhelming regret. (Okay, except maybe Paris…) There’s so much left that I haven’t seen or done. Whole neighborhoods I haven’t visited, new people I haven’t met.

I haven’t written in over a year, and didn’t do any blog posts about Chicago at all, WTF? Granted, I was busy with work, planning a wedding and dealing with depression, but really?

Can I have a do-over? Can we go back to Chicago, where I’d do everything I should have done during our year there?

I’d move to a cool apartment in a more affordable part of town. I’d throw dinner parties for my neighbors. I’d take cooking classes, and befriend local bloggers, chefs and foodies. I’d join my friend Kevin’s beach volleyball team. I’d take the water taxi to Chinatown all the time, because I could. I’d follow my friend Brittany all over the city, because she is the queen of free/cheap entertainment and bargain shopping. I’d go to new restaurants every week. And I’d photograph and write about everything.

Anyway, I’ve fallen out of the habit of taking pictures of everything I eat/make – but here is a list of eating establishments I already miss, the ones I will seek out when I return for visits… in no particular order:

Karyn’s on Green – Andy and I had our wedding reception brunch there, so this place will always be special to us. Located in the West Loop, this spot has the best French toast in the city!

The Chicago Diner – Junk food galore! Wings, milkshakes, Reuben sandwiches, milkshakes. Booze. Hot male servers. Hot female servers. I love this place so hard. If it’s crowded at the original Halsted Street location (which it often is), you will probably be asked to sit at the bar. While it’s not as nice as a booth or a table by the window, you can watch one of the hotties preparing milkshakes. If he messes up a milkshake (made the wrong kind, made too much, etc), he may give that mistake to you, for free. This happened to me at least three times. ;)

Bon Bon Sandwiches – Vietnamese Banh Mi is my new sandwich of choice (move over, falafel), and Bon Bon’s Lemongrass Tofu is perfect. Crusty/soft baguette, chewy fried tofu flavored with lemongrass and soy sauce, sweet daikon radish and carrot relish, creamy avocado and vegan mayo. I want one NOW, with mango bubble tea! And the place, located in Wicker Park, is a great hangout spot, with free Wifi, comfy seating, and music that’s at a good level for conversation.

4. Native Foods – I worked there briefly when we first moved to Chicago, so after I quit it was weird for me to go in there for a while. But I still adore their food! Yeah, it’s a chain, but the closest location to San Diego is two hours away (by bus, anyway) so I mourn no longer being able to walk there. This place, though I did enjoy flashier options such as the Scorpion Burger and the Super Italian Meatball Sub, was truly one of the places I could visit to get a really good salad. I rarely order salads at restaurants, except at Native Foods. (Okay, there’s the occasional Buffalo Ranch Salad at Chicago Diner, but it’s smothered in so much ranch dressing that it just ain’t healthy anymore.) The Caribbean Jerk Kale Salad was my favorite, followed by the Ensalada Azteca.

5. Ba Le Sandwiches – Another Banh Mi place? This food-crush is turning serious. Ba Le was only a block away from our apartment in the Loop, and from day one the lady there always remembered to leave the cheese and mayo off my sandwich, even when I forgot to say anything. I just wanted to put her in my pocket and take her everywhere, so she can yell at anyone who even dares to fuck up my food. Though their sandwiches are pricier and not quite as flavorful as Bon Bon’s, they are larger, and served at a steamier temperature, which makes them quite satisfying to tuck into on a cold afternoon. In their refrigerated case, they always had vegan salad rolls (spring rolls filled with avocado, rice noodles and spicy sauce), which were delightful.

6. Ruby of Siam – Three doors away from Ba Le, this quiet BYOB is a Thai food haven in the western Loop area when other establishments have closed. And the food is yum! They are very vegan friendly and can make almost anything on their very large menu animal-free.

Chicago is such a foodie city that of course there are more restaurants I could have mentioned, but I’ll stop there.

I’m in San Diego now and am happy. And my husband’s happy. And we’re renting a cute place (a house, not an apartment) in an affordable part of town. Too far away from the beach to join a volleyball team, and there isn’t a water taxi or a Chinatown, but we do throw dinner parties for our neighbors. And I’ve taken a few cooking classes and tried some restaurants.

But I haven’t found a good Banh Mi sandwich here. (Or falafel, for that matter.) Vegan French toast? Forget it. And all I keep telling everyone is that I miss Chicago.

]]>https://bangbangquest.wordpress.com/2013/07/06/six-chicago-restaurants-i-will-miss/feed/4eatflyhustleLemongrass Tofu Banh Mi and Bubble Tea! Yum yumThanksgiving: Cake, Lust, Cautionhttps://bangbangquest.wordpress.com/2011/12/04/cakelustcaution/
https://bangbangquest.wordpress.com/2011/12/04/cakelustcaution/#respondSun, 04 Dec 2011 19:43:59 +0000http://bangbangquest.wordpress.com/?p=1606]]>Just landed in Chicago a couple days ago, and while it’s wonderful to be back in the US there are already things I miss about Spain…

Such as Lujuria Vegana‘s cake! Lujuria is the Spanish word for lust, you know. Mmmm I feel like such a dirty girl.

Molten Chocolate Cake

On Thanksgiving Day (just an ordinary day in Spain, of course), Andy and I dropped by the headquarters of Lujuria Vegana (LV) in Hospitalet, a suburb of Barcelona. A few weeks prior, during an email exchange with Rosa Avellaneda, LV’s General Director, she casually invited me to visit. So I mistakenly thought the place would be a pastelería, where my guy and I could sit down with a few cups of coffee and inhale embarrassing amounts of cake served on ridiculously dainty little plates whilst we celebrated the moments of our lives.

Oops! No café, no pastry case, no cute little tables and chairs. Nope, it’s a full-on industrial bad-ass kitchen, located in a warehouse loft on a side street, surrounded by auto repair shops. But no matter.

Even though he clearly hadn’t been expecting us, Toni Rodriguez, LV’s owner and chef, welcomed us with open arms and let us check out his kitchen. After we put on hairnets, of course.

I'm lusting after this kitchen.

Toni Rodriguez

After Toni chatted with us for a few minutes about vegan restaurants and travel, he put something in the microwave and stood stiffly next to it. I asked him a question and he didn’t respond, just kind of shook his head and grunted–later I realized he was doing a mental countdown to pull whatever-it-was out of the microwave at just the right time.

Next thing we know, he’s fixing us a plate. I die.

Fancy!

As the chocolate oozed out of the molten chocolate cake after we pierced it with spoons, there was no longer a need for words. Uhh, what were we talking about?

The only thing I didn't like about this cake was that I had to share it. :)

It’s one thing to have a vegan cake, but one with a warm gooey center? Get the hell out. It was everything a cake should be: moist, velvety texture, rich but not achingly heavy, chocolaty and sweet but not overly so. What else can I say?

After Andy and I duked it out for the last few bites of cake and damn near licked the plate clean, Toni led us out of the kitchen into the reception area (letting us sample a few sugar cookies on the way) and mentioned a cookbook he had recently published, Delicias Veganas.

Well guess what?!? I had been checking out that same book at El Corte Ingles (a big department store in Spain) for weeks but was too scurred to buy it. (Would it fit in my luggage? Would I be able to follow recipes written entirely in Spanish?) For once my hesitation paid off because now I’d have a signed copy!! IT’S A THANKSGIVING MIRACLE!!!

I still don't know what he wrote--gotta work on my Spanish translation skillz...

Then, as if that weren’t enough, Toni packed up a stunning array of delectable pastries for us to take home! OMG!! (Now please don’t go thinking LV gives stuff away for free to crazy Americans who stop by–Andy did give him some money for the book and the pasteles, though probably not nearly enough for the memorable experience…)

Thanksgiving dinner!! Just kidding...

Thanks again, Toni, for showing us where the naughty, lusty magic happens at Lujuria Vegana!

Getting some coffee while I peruse my new cookbook--can't wait to try some recipes!

LV’s HQ is located at Passatge Can Polític, 19 08907 Hospitalet de Llobregat. BUT, just so you don’t have to go lurking around the back streets of Hospitalet like we did, here are some other places you can find Lujuria Vegana’s pastries:Gopal, C/Escudellers 42, Plaça George OrwellPasteleria La Estrella, C/Nou de la Rambla, 32Eco-Centro Vegania, C/Mallorca, 330Veganoteca, C/Valldonzella, 60Tot Natural El Super Ecologic, C/ Francesc Pi I Margall, 91, 08830

]]>https://bangbangquest.wordpress.com/2011/12/04/cakelustcaution/feed/0eatflyhustleMolten Chocolate CakeI'm lusting after this kitchen.Toni RodriguezFancy!The only thing I didn't like about this cake was that I had to share it. :)Sign my book!Thanksgiving dinner!! Just kidding...Enjoying my new cookbook--can't wait to try some recipes!Barcelona Briefhttps://bangbangquest.wordpress.com/2011/11/30/barca/
https://bangbangquest.wordpress.com/2011/11/30/barca/#commentsWed, 30 Nov 2011 17:40:29 +0000http://bangbangquest.wordpress.com/?p=1588]]>Well… Did Andy and I go to Berlin, as we had originally planned last summer?

Nope, we went to Barcelona instead.

We rented an apartment in the suburbs via AirBnB, and have been here for almost two months. Though we didn’t do a whole lot of touristy stuff (WTF, no Parc Güell?!?) I have fallen in love with the place and hope to return. The weather has been poopy (rainy season!), the food has been mostly so-so compared to other places we’ve been to, but the people have been (mostly) wonderful. Barcelona is undoubtedly a beautiful city but its beauty isn’t as in-your-face as that of, say, Paris. In that way, I felt as though it was more…accessible. Does that make sense? I didn’t find it to be an overly flashy and glittery city, just a very pleasant one.

If we can get work visas, we’d like to try living here for a while. My guy and I are very sick of moving around and though we do want to continue to travel, we desperately need a “home base.” So…who knows?

Anyway, what did we do here?

We ate, duh…

I was pleasantly surprised to find so many vegan options! If you’re checking out La Rambla, you must go to Gopal!

Gopal (crowded of course!) C/ dels Escudellers, 42 08002 Barcelona

Gopal's menu--look at all the choices!

It’s a cute little 100% vegan deli with delicious, affordable hamburguesas. And if you need a vegan dessert, you’re in luck–their cakes and brownies come from Lujuria Vegana. Mmmm… it’s best to go in the early afternoon because it’s a small place that fills up quickly! Or, get some sammiches “para llevar” (to go, or literally “for to take”) and go back to La Rambla. Have a seat next to the statue at Plaça del Teatre and have a picnic!

Other stuff I enjoyed:

Pimientos de Padrón! Available at most tapas bars...just padrón peppers pan-fried in olive oil and sprinkled with sea salt--yum.

Also available at many places... Hummus, BEER, and pan con tomate, a Catalan favorite

Because we stayed in a non-touristy suburb (Cornellá de Llobregat) and are on a tight budget, sadly we didn’t visit as many “veg” establishments as I would have liked. You’ll have to visit them for me and tell me how they are. :)

Places that I didn’t visit and am looking forward to visiting next time include:

Cat Bar, C/ Bòria, 17 08003 Barcelona, Spain (quarrygirl said it had the best veggieburgers in BCN… is that true??)

One place that’s within walking distance of our place, Café Bambu (C/Vicenç Bou 12, Esplugues de Llobregat, 08950 Barcelona), which had tasty burgers and hummus, is being sold and may be an Irish pub or something by the time we return. :( If you get a chance to go before it closes, the owner, Stephanie, is very nice!

Vegan Snacks and Meals for the Regional Flight Attendant

This is by no means an exhaustive list, just something to give you some ideas. Some of the foods I’m suggesting may be no-brainers to those of you who have been vegan for a while, but I wanted to present as many possibilities as I could.

***If something on the list is in italics, it probably won’t taste good cold and you will need a microwave.

Good travel meals and snacks should, in my opinion:

Not be too messy/smelly.

Ideally, taste good hot or cold—I’ve learned the hard way that microwaves aren’t always available.

A big ol’ avocado. You might get funny looks if you eat it by itself on the plane, FYI. People are weird about avocados. You can use an old (clean) hotel room key to cut it open if you don’t have a knife. Sprinkle it with sea salt and it’s lovely.

Oatmeal. You can make instant oatmeal on the plane, at Starbucks, in your hotel room, almost anywhere! Always pilfer a couple packets from your hotel.

Wasabi peas

Rice crackers

Good-quality dark chocolate. A nice after-dinner (or mid-day) treat.

Cookies, brownies and other vegan baked goods. These are difficult to find outside of health-food stores, so bring your own.

Breakfast

Are you sick of mushy oatmeal, fruit, toast, bagels and “breakfast potatoes”? Well, other vegan brekkie options are rare in hotels and restaurants, so plan ahead if you want to start the day off right.

Peanut butter and banana sandwich. If your hotel offers a free breakfast buffet, they’ll likely have all the fixings for this. Peanut butter and apple is good as well.

Bagels or toast w/PB, preserves, Tofutti cream cheese, or hummus. If you toast the bagel and put your toppings on before you leave home, it won’t get terribly soggy and TSA will probably be okay with it.

Beans on toast! Very British, but a nice change of pace. Just use a can of vegetarian baked beans.

Tofu scramble

“Sausage” biscuit sandwich

Unfrosted strawberry or blueberry Pop-Tarts. Not the healthiest thing but hey, there’s fruit in there somewhere, right?

Breakfast burrito–I make a sweet version with peanut butter, banana, walnuts and raisins, all on a wheat tortilla. It’s the “PMS Special!”

Almost anything you eat at home can be packed for lunch/dinner, but not everything tastes good cold. Granted, there are a LOT of things that I’ll eat cold so feel free to disagree with me. Here are just a few ideas:

Super-Lazy Curried Chickpeas & Tomatoes (Can of chickpeas + can of tomatoes + curry powder and a bit of salt)

Lentil Loaf, mashed potatoes + green beans

Casserole! It travels well, it freezes well!

Green bean

Chili Mac

Mexican Polenta

Sandwiches

Drop that Boca patty! Screw those tasteless grilled veggie wraps that seem to be on every hotel dining menu! Make a real sammich that sticks to your ribs. For a lighter alternative to bread, try making a wrap with either a tortilla or a steamed collard leaf.

Nut butter and preserves or fruit–duh

Avocado & tomato with vegan mayo.

Broccoli slaw, sun-dried tomato, artichoke hearts and hummus (You’ll find all the ingredients for this at any grocery store.)

“Meatball” sub

Lentil loaf

BBQ seitan or tempeh

“Tuna,” “Chicken,” or “Egg” salad (don’t you love all these quotation marks?)

Lentil loaf, with extra ketchup

TLT–tempeh (or tofu), lettuce, tomato. Add avocado and sprouts, too!

Leftover pasta or grain dishes in a wrap–I like tabbouleh with lots of tomato.

Falafel pita

Stuffed grape leaf pita (tried this in a restaurant in Chicago once…mmm. It was just a bunch of canned stuffed grape leaves inside a pita with lettuce, tomato and hummus)

Potato salad, coleslaw and seitan (Messy, but so good!)

Spring/Summer Rolls

Tamales

Salads

A big, green salad. Yes, in theory you can order one anywhere but once you omit the non-vegan toppings what are you left with? Often, just iceburg lettuce and a few carrot shreds. And at a lot of fast-food places the salads are pre-made and have been sitting in a refrigerated case getting all funked-up with hard-boiled-egg residue, so… what was I talking about? Yeah. Just make your own dang salad.

Pasta salad has saved my life so many times! It’s usually eaten cold but you can heat it as long as you don’t use a creamy dressing. Just combine any pasta (including couscous) and any vegetables, add some beans or other protein and a light dressing or just season with garlic powder, salt, pepper etc, olive oil and lemon juice.

Vegan Snacks and Meals for the Regional Flight Attendant

In Part One, I discussed the importance of packing your meals when you travel, how to choose a travel cooler, and how to choose where to stay when you travel.

Now, let me briefly go over getting your food through security, and eating while in the sky.

Security Warnings…

If you’re not a flight crewmember in uniform, it’s always a good idea to review TSA guidelines for liquids/gels and plan accordingly. (And yes, peanut butter and hummus count as liquids!) If it’s definitely a liquid, keep it in a 3-oz-or-less container. Keep any “borderline” items in small quantities, and be prepared to eat them before getting to security or throw them away (gah!) if a TSA agent tells you to do so. Hey, they’re just doing their job!

If you’re bringing lots of liquids, the smartest thing to do would be to just check your cooler at the ticket counter if you think your bag and its contents will survive being tossed around. Even if you have to pay a baggage fee (!) you’ll probably still save money over restaurant food, especially if you’re bringing your own alcohol. (People do that, right? Not just me?)

Just make sure you bring something to eat on the plane. Even if it’s supposed to be a short flight, always bring at least a small snack because you never know what could happen. Why are people so grouchy when they travel? They’re probably hungry and thirsty!

You may already be aware that requesting an airline vegan meal is risky. Some airlines don’t seem to know what vegan means, and will still try to give you dairy products. Others will forget about your meal, or give it to someone else.

Make TRIPLE-sure your meal will be there waiting for you—it’s a bit obnoxious, but a lot better than the alternative.

Book your flight at least 24 hours in advance. Talk to a customer-service representative, and make sure they know that you don’t want any milk, butter or cheese with your meal.

When you check-in at the airport, confirm with the gate agent that a special meal was ordered for you.

Board as early as possible. Once on board, pull a flight attendant aside and say, “Hi, my name is _____ and I’m in seat 32B. I ordered a special meal…when you have a second can you check to make sure it’s here?” and make sure you get a “Yes, it’s here” before the cabin door closes!

If (free) meals aren’t being served on the plane, bring your own grub! Just a few gentle reminders…

Avoid anything that has a strong smell. YOU may think your orange smells fabulous but I personally can’t stand that smell and cringe every time I see someone pull one out of their bag. Odoriferous foods might push a queasy passenger over the edge. Would you like your meal accompanied by the sound of a stranger’s dry heaves? I didn’t think so.

If you have snacky foods, such as trail mix, consider sharing with your neighbor—they’ll probably say “no, thank you” but you just might make their day.

Please clean up after yourself. If possible, give snacks to small children a handful at a time so they don’t throw them all over the place. And the seat pockets are not trash bins!

If you ask the flight attendant for anything special such as an unopened can of soda or extra cookies, do it discreetly.

Use gum or mints when you’re done eating. Your neighbors will love you for it.

Vegan Snacks and Meals for the Regional Flight Attendant

This is a post that I’d been working on for a while. I recently quit my job as a flight attendant, but ahhh I have fond memories…

People seem to think it’s so difficult to be a vegan and a flight attendant at the same time. Eh, it was and it wasn’t. I just dealt with it.

Sometimes my job would me away from home for up to 4 days at a time, and eating at Subway because there were no other veg-friendly options available got tiresome quickly. Sometimes there’s not even a Subway or ANYTHING within walking distance of the hotel and nothing vegetarian on the hotel’s ridiculously-expensive dining menu.

Thus, my food bag was extremely important to me. After a 12-hour day, all I wanted to do was take off my uniform, wash my hands very, very well with the Lush soap I brought (I saved the hotel soaps for my mother) and unpack all my goodies. Food is love, indeed.

In this three-part series, I’ll discuss my ideas for keeping fed while on the go!

This list is not just for flight attendants who work at regional airlines–such as Mesa, Mesaba, SkyWest, GoJet–but I worked for a regional carrier so I figured I’d represent! :)

Packing Your Meals – Where to Begin?

Bringing enough food to cover at least half my meals over the course of a trip saved me a lot of time and money and kept me from starving. I’m hardly a chef, but I usually enjoy the food I’ve prepared according to my unique dietary needs.

The first thing you must think about is how you will transport your food. For the frequent traveler, a cooler bag is a wise investment—there are so many options available online, in any shape, size and color you can dream up. I’ve written about my favorite brand already. Some of them even have wheels. Whatever bag you choose, be sure it’s sturdy, leak-proof, has good insulation, and different compartments for utensils, condiments, etc. Also, get an ice pack for it or fill it with ice as necessary.

Odds ‘n Ends

Aside from the actual food, which will be discussed in Part Three, what should you put in your bag? Here are my suggestions:

Utensils: fork, spoon, knife and maybe even chopsticks. It might be a good idea to invest in bamboo utensils—they’re strong enough to withstand travel (plastic forks LOVE to break!) yet TSA-friendly. Better for the environment than plastic ones, too.

Do you have a drawer in your kitchen where you keep condiments from restaurants? Come on, everyone does. Bring packets of condiments and seasonings such as ketchup/mustard, salt/pepper, soy sauce, hot sauce or red pepper flakes for when your meal needs a little extra somethin’. Sometimes I even pack a lemon—lemon juice is a great way to “brighten up” the flavors of your food, as the chefs say.

I do use plastic bags and Gladware, but if you’re looking for more eco-friendly options they are available online. However, I have yet to find a lightweight, microwaveable solution that isn’t made of plastic.

Napkins! One can only use the the hotel’s towels for so long…

Stay hydrated. Bring an empty water bottle with you to fill up after you go through security. Flavored drink packets, though generally teeming with artificial flavorings, can be a lifesaver if the local water tastes bad. Many flight attendants swear by Emergen-C, for the vitamin boost and the flavor. If you like a special brand of instant coffee, bring small packets of it. Airplane coffee is revolting. There, I said it.

Hand sanitizer is a must. Bring a small bottle or packets, OR if you’re really cheap you can ask a flight attendant for some.

Mints/gum. You’ll thank me later.

Where you stay…

…will determine what you need to pack. If you have a choice in the matter–crewmembers don’t, unfortunately–keep meals in mind when choosing your lodging.

Find out if there are any veg-friendly restaurants in the area. While I’m all about avoiding chain restaurants to save money and stave off boredom, but if there’s a locally-owned place nearby that looks really good and you can afford it, I say go for it! To me that’s part of the fun (okay, most of the fun) of travel.

It would be great to stay in a hotel that offers suites with kitchenettes so you can easily prepare meals, but those can be pricey and/or not conveniently located. Instead, try to find a hotel room with a microwave and/or mini-refrigerator. Some hotels don’t have enough appliances for every room but may have a few available that can be brought to your room upon request. If there’s a mini-bar, ask if the hotel will empty it out for you to use.

If you can’t get these appliances in your room, see if the hotel has an employee break area where you can refrigerate/heat your food. If all else fails, use ice from the ice machine to keep your meals chilled and use hot water from the coffeemaker—almost every hotel room has a coffeemaker—for instant soup. (Please don’t put food inside the coffee pot! Uggghh)

Look for a hotel near a grocery store, health-food store, co-op, or farmers’ market. I always like to supplement my meals with fresh, more perishable items whenever possible, and you can pick up small quantities of liquids like soy milk or hummus.

See if your hotel offers free breakfast, and if you’re feeling really bold, find out what they serve before you leave home. If they serve bread/bagels, then you won’t need to pack those. If they serve potatoes, perhaps bring some fake meat or veggies to go with it.

Well, that’s all I have for Part One… Stay tuned for security warnings, my tips for eating on the plane, and FOOD IDEAS!

What do you think so far?

]]>https://bangbangquest.wordpress.com/2011/06/24/vegan-flight-attendant/feed/8eatflyhustleYellow tomatoes! My Best Seitan Yet!!https://bangbangquest.wordpress.com/2011/06/21/my-best-seitan-yet/
https://bangbangquest.wordpress.com/2011/06/21/my-best-seitan-yet/#commentsWed, 22 Jun 2011 06:26:32 +0000http://bangbangquest.wordpress.com/?p=1537]]>Remember Seitan Tuesdays? Probably not, but I do. I decided to bring it back. Never mind that by the time you read this it’ll probably be Wednesday… it’s the thought that counts, right?

Of all the things that a vegan is “supposed” to know how to make, such as tofu scramble, kale chips (yeah right) or hummus, seitan is one of those things I never quite got the hang of. Wrapping the gluten dough up tightly in aluminum foil and baking it usually turns out well for me, but that method gives the seitan a very firm, dry texture that I don’t always want. When I do the traditional method of simmering the dough in broth, usually it goes terribly wrong.

But tonight, I got it just right. Purely by accident, of course.

I followed the recipe for “Simple Seitan” in The The Veganopolis Cookbook by David Stowell and George Black. I really enjoyed this recipe because it was, well, simple. Call me weird, but I kinda don’t like bits of garlic, pepper flakes and other debris mucking up my wheat meat, so I appreciate that Veganopolis’s recipe used powdered spices that were readily available and blended easily with the vital wheat gluten (and saved me from having to dirty up my garlic press).

However, the ingredients didn’t really matter; probably any recipe would have worked. What made this seitan awesome was the technique I used.

The recipe was your basic “simmer the seitan for 40 minutes” type of deal, which I tried to do. I kneaded the dough, let it rest, kneaded it again, cut it into strips, and threw the strips into four cups of boiling vegetable broth.

The strips of dough started out so little and cute. After letting them boil for a minute, I reduced the heat to a simmer, set the kitchen time for 40 minutes, and went back to looking at Twitter or something.

20 minutes or so later, I decided to go check on my strips of gluteny wonder. They had nearly TRIPLED in size, crowding the pan! I didn’t take a picture–it was too scary.

Looks like I screwed it up again, I thought.

Until Andy stepped in! Yaaaay Andy!

“Why don’t you put it in the oven?” My boyfriend asked. After all, the seitan wasn’t rubbery like bubble gum, just soggy and spongy. It could be saved!

I oiled up a baking sheet, heated the oven to 350 degrees, and baked the strips for 30 minutes, flipping them halfway through.

And ta-da!!!

I must say that it was very close to seitan that I’ve had in restaurants. Slightly crisp on the outside, moist and tender on the inside. Firm enough to pick up and dip into barbecue sauce. (Not that we’d do that before dinner or anything…)

After that, I wanted to get dinner on the table in a hurry. I made a stir-fry using frozen veggies and fresh bok choy, and chopped the strips into bite-size pieces.

Andy made some chili sauce (as you can see in the top picture) and then we ate!

Victory is mine at last!!

]]>https://bangbangquest.wordpress.com/2011/06/21/my-best-seitan-yet/feed/6eatflyhustleSeitan with Asian VegetablesWheat gluten strips, just after adding them to the brothSeitan strips!Stir fry!Where I Will Go.https://bangbangquest.wordpress.com/2011/06/09/where-i-will-go/
https://bangbangquest.wordpress.com/2011/06/09/where-i-will-go/#commentsFri, 10 Jun 2011 00:25:06 +0000http://bangbangquest.wordpress.com/?p=1420]]>(Broke my camera and I haven’t done anything lately that was photo-worthy enough to borrow Andy’s camera so I think this may be the first blog post I’ve done without pictures! Oh dear!)

A few days ago I wrote a post explaining why I haven’t blogged in a long time. I took it down because I was feeling very negative toward myself when I wrote it, which is not the way I wish to be. I didn’t want that attitude floating around in cyberspace. Yes, I have personal struggles with maintaining focus and truly identifying and following my passion(s), but I’m getting better as time goes on. I started this blog to chronicle the search for whatever it is I’m looking for, so that is what I need to continue doing.

Anyway, just to get you up to speed…

I have left my job as a flight attendant. After my health scare last year, Andy and I had to leave Denver due to the high altitude. A friend of his let us rent her condo in Las Vegas very cheaply, so that’s where we live now. But, since my airline doesn’t have a base in Las Vegas, I commuted to/from Denver, then Chicago so that I could work. Commuting sucks!! Naturally, this took a toll on my relationship with Andy and my own well-being, and I decided that the job just wasn’t worth it. If it were something I wanted to do forever (or at least a few more years) then I would have moved Chicago or another base, Houston, to avoid commuting, but it wasn’t.

Ironically, now that I’m not tied down by the crazy schedule of a flight attendant, I can travel more. Andy and I are planning a trip to Berlin! Don’t know when or for how long, exactly… we would like to stay for a few months, but that all depends on who he ends up working for. He’s a consultant so he works from home and could, in theory, work anywhere in the world but on Monday he just interviewed with a company that wants him to stay in the US for a year. Booo! Anyway, we’ll see…

Since we’re going to Berlin, my “job” is to learn German! Inspired by Benny the Irish Polyglot from Fluent in Three Months, I’ve been focusing a lot on my studies and think I’m doing quite well so far. This morning I was counting in German in the shower… I got to around 65 and gave myself a slight headache from thinking so hard, but whatever. What I need to do, though, is actually speak to people in German! There’s a German bakery nearby that I plan to visit regularly, but since I’m trying to lose weight I don’t think I should go more than once a week. :) Besides, it’s not really a place I where I could hang out and be able to do much more than exchange pleasantries: Hi, how are you? I’m good, thank you, and you? Womp womp womp. I need to have real conversations with people if I’m ever going to become fluent. So… are you fluent in German? Email me at aleciabangbang [at] gmail.com and we can chat on Skype, if you’d like. Guten Tag!

I’m writing an e-book. Everyone has one nowadays, don’t they? ;) Mine will be a very short guide aimed toward vegans who travel frequently for business, who would like to pack their own food to take with them. Coming soon… In the meantime, check out this blog post about vegan travel.

I’ve decided to make some changes to the blog. Again. (Why do I feel as though I spend more time writing about what this blog will be about than anything else? Hmmm)

I will no longer be sharing recipes (unless I find something I’m super-excited about). I still love to cook, but would rather leave kitchen experimentation to the zillion other foodies out there, many of whom do a far better job than I did. If I come across a cookbook or a restaurant that I enjoy, I’ll share my recommendation. If I have a thought/rant about something related to veganism/restaurants/other food-related stuff, you’ll find it here. (By the way, if you have a lot of cookbooks, have you tried Eat Your Books? It allows you to do a search through your cookbook library to find the perfect recipe. Faboo!)

The blog will be more focused on my goals (see my newly-edited Happiness List) and my progress toward reaching them. That’s the direction I’d been trying to take for a while but I was too wishy-washy. Some of my goals are silly and light-hearted, and some are things that will really help me with my career.

The goals I’m focusing on right now are:

Becoming fluent in German (#6), as I mentioned above.

Becoming a restaurant consultant (#33). Answering questions and giving advice to my friends about “vegan stuff” has been something I’ve enjoyed for almost five years. Whenever I walk into a restaurant, I’m always bursting with ideas about how they can become more attractive to vegans and vegetarians. (Remember this post? It’s still my most popular one by far.) Surely there’s some restaurant owner out there who’s willing to listen to my advice and the knowledge I’ve gained after eating at hundreds of restaurants around the country, and the world. Right?

Hosting a cooking or food-related show on YouTube (#67). This one is the scariest! What would I do/make? How will I format it? What will I wear? I’d like to do a series of shows but for now just one will make me happy.

I’ve been reading Rosetta Thurman’s wonderful career-coaching blog, Happy Black Woman, and her latest post discusses having someone in your life you are accountable to, to keep you on track. I don’t have a person to speak with regularly and can’t afford to hire a coach (I’m unemployed now!) so this blog is where I will go.

Anyway, I’m glad to be back to blogging again! Thank you very much for reading.